Fruit native to West Africa that was introduced to the Caribbean. It is the national fruit of Jamaica, and features prominently in Jamaican cuisine where it is an ingredient in the the national dish 'ackee and saltfish'. The fruit changes in colour from yellowish-green to a reddish orange as it matures. When ripe, the pods open to reveal two to three fleshy white or cream coloured arils. The arils are the only edible part of the fruit. The unripe and unopened fruit is poisonous and may cause Jamaican Vomiting Sickness.

Ovoid green fruit that grows in bunches on trees up to 30m high. The fruit typically ripen during the summer. The fruit is related to the lychee and have tight, thin but rigid skins. Inside the skin is the tart, tangy, or sweet pulp of the fruit covering a large seed. The pulp is usually cream or orange coloured.

Yes in Barbados we call ackee what y'all call guinep!!! Just like Jamaicans say "unnu" to mean y'all, we Bajans say "wunna" to mean y'all.

DrwattsyDec 23, 2013

What is toto in Trini?

joJan 26, 2014

In Trinidad we call it chennete and akee is yellow with black seeds

jadeApr 25, 2014

jamaica did not invent guinep or ackee. Every country has their own language. Ackee, guinep whatever can be called shit for all I care. Its from the earth not yours.

767May 20, 2014

In Dominica we call this kenip

LuluhJun 10, 2014

LOL!! its ok, we're all island people, which is a blessing being that we are free. Thank God for our ancestors landing where they did. We are more than fortunate we get to call "our foods" whatever. I love it when I get to go home and pick ackee, guinep, june plum, and mango from the trees and EAT THEM!! Everyone, just respect each other, eat "your" food and enjoy... One Love!

smhJun 14, 2014

really stupid people here, we not tied to jamaica so call it what we like. saint lucia doesn't really deal with what jamaicans call "ackee". It's not our culture.

HandsJul 05, 2014

We call this genip in St. John. Ackee a whole udder ting.

meSep 02, 2014

I love ackee and salt fish

ChenetteNov 06, 2014

In St.Lucia this fruit is commonly referred to as ackee and occasionally as chenet (which many people assume is the creole word for the fruit) however St.Lucians refering to the fruit as ackee does not mean that we are not aware of the Jamaican ackee (which is grown in st.lucia as well). It's all about island heritage

hiNov 17, 2014

hi

hJan 03, 2015

The jamaican usage of the word is the original usage. The word comes from akan language of ghana from the word akye which is their name for the fruit.also unu is from igbo unu jamaicans say it exactly like how igbos say it, that's so cool

meikaJan 05, 2015

Ackee is wonderful with saltfish or even chicken so to all the people who don't eat I you are missing out on haven. it is a delightful treat

BajanAllDayMar 05, 2015

Schupse! All de talk, I like ackee (Barbados) real bad! It too sweet.

JoyMay 05, 2015

I am confused.... why are two different fruits pictured? I left Dominica as a young child, but the green skin fruit pictured I remember calling it Kenips and the reddish/pinkish skin fruit I only learned about it after moving to Miami and it was referred to by Dominican family friends as Ackee.... so its not a debate about who calls it what, but rather what exactly the debate is about....

Because it's a common name for both fruits....as s child I knew the bottom (green deliciousness) as ackee. It wasn't until I got older I realised that Jamaicans called the top pic the same thing (which they cook with saltfish, not one if my favs but who can turn down saltfish??) ...

VincyJul 10, 2015

We call it both ackee and guniep!We know what Jamaican ackee is!

orlando satchellJul 26, 2015

Living in st lucia as jamicam born mother , my self born in the Uk , but a chef in st lucia, , how do we show case the cusine of the Caribbean if we can not call the ingredients the correct names , it's one thing to respect a countrs view point , however if it's call guinep or quenepa , why should you call other name like ackee , the national fruit of other island ?so where did it come from

triniboiJul 30, 2015

Unbelievable that so many cannot accept that different cultures call things by differently. The so called "correct names" are those in the scientific classifications. Other than that its a fruit called differently by different cultures. Same as "money". Is it dollar, lira, peso, rupee, pound, renminbi, euro, franc (one for almost every letter of the alphabet), or is it all of the above?

TrinigalAug 03, 2015

If Bajana call Chenet/ guinep 'akee', what do they call Akee? Jamaican Akee? And if Chenet/ guinep is related to the Lychee, did it come from China? Maybe an Englishman mislabeled a cargo of Chenet\ guinep when it landed in Barbados a couple of hundred years ago..? (No disrespect intended)

TrinigalAug 03, 2015

It is one thing to call a fruit or tree by different names according to culture, for example Melongene, aubergine, eggplant...but to call it the name of a completely different fruit (imagine Mango for Melongene!) is somewhat confusing to say the least. But so be it. It is what it is :)

NathalieAug 06, 2015

I'm Haitian-American, grew up in Miami. I have a Trini best friend and a Jamaican best friend. The green fruit I've only know it to be called either lychee or kinip. Akee is the other fruit that has the black seeds.... So freakin' good, but poisonous if eaten before it's ready. I've never heard the name to be used to describe one fruit, but it's good to know.

JadeAug 23, 2015

To those wondering what us Bajans call "Jamaican ackee", we doan call it anything because it doesn't grow here, we never really need to refer to it.

gertyAug 23, 2015

Den how unnu mek ackee and saltfish?

JadeAug 29, 2015

We doan mek ackee and saltfish, that isn't a dish here

gertyAug 29, 2015

Wow. That's no way to live. How very sad....

leeSep 05, 2015

Any Cape students here

ackeeSep 16, 2015

We ackeee good

cynthiaSep 20, 2015

I think that we should exchange plants... That would be a splendid idea.

cynthiaSep 20, 2015

I think that we should exchange plants... That would be a splendid idea.

DanielSep 24, 2015

i love this fruit.Ghanaians also call it Ackee.how can i juice it for the purpose of milk?

YsraelOct 16, 2015

This is funny because I'm in Cuba and I never see that fruit before in my life I see it for the first time on my neighbor's backyard ,she is Jamaican

KimNov 04, 2015

Yes, CAPE student here @ lee

Jaden mohanNov 10, 2015

I love fish

urballissNov 10, 2015

The only right name is the origin name from africa, everyone else chill out..

elizabethDec 06, 2015

Its dosnt matter ,called it whatever in your country just eat and be happy

mariaDec 27, 2015

ackee and saltfish married thats wat mek it so nice

AndiDec 28, 2015

Research shows that both Bajan ackee and Jamaican ackee are related. Traditionally Bajans were afraid of Jamaican ackee because all we knew was that it is poisonous; however in recent times and with increasing travel, many Bajans have come to love and eat Jamaican ackee, with many having trees in their yards. We differentiate by saying "Jamaican ackee" as opposed to "ackee".

AndiDec 28, 2015

Many "naturalists" even eat the "raw" fruit. It has a nutty taste somewhat like a cross between a cashew and avocado and very much like the seed of the Bajan ackee. Are there any other recipes for ackee other than "ackee and saltfish"

TrelswnyJan 18, 2016

I love ackee

KhadigahJan 22, 2016

I love ackee

AnaJan 22, 2016

I love loom bands

BobzyJan 30, 2016

Please remember that ackee, when forced open is highly poisonous as it contains deadly levels of the toxin hypoglycin. DO NOT force open an ackee pod, but rather allow the pods to naturally open on their own.

AdyamboFeb 02, 2016

I must say I had fun going through the different names, I knew about guineps being called ackee from a Lucian friend at UWI, but what got me were all the other names given to guineps by the different islands skinep was my favourite though. peace all food is good to eat, just make sure you see a picture on the menu before ordering. cats look like rabbits and everything taste like chicken dwl

IsabeldeCaracasFeb 16, 2016

Aki y bacalao; mamon o quenepas

BarbMar 21, 2016

There is no Jamaican flag represented for the 'ackee'. That is the name known by the other islands whose flags are shown

Marie-CeliaMar 24, 2016

Today, despite showing a Jamaican friend that the fruit is called different names by fifferent islands, she still kept arguing that every other name for what we call ackee is wrong. As Barb said above, we should respect other people's culture. I could not deny or argue a fact , do I allowed my friend to think she was a winner. There was anither Jamaican friend who just smiled!

GregoryApr 18, 2016

The fruit shown in the picture is actually chenet.

Abstrak268May 03, 2016

Omg these comments smh. Anyone calling the small green fruit w. thin/rough skin and creamy, fleshy insides ackee when everyone knows that the red fruit w. black seeds and yellow inside is ackee is deliberate. I not go call u what you're deliberately being but u deliberate.

IndyMay 27, 2016

genip! delicious.

julesJun 28, 2016

In St.lucia we have both fruits that are depicted above, how ever we recognize the first photo as Jamaican ackee and the second photo as ackee or chenet .if you are St .lucian and someone ask you for ackkee you will bring them the fruit depicted in the second photo and if you want the fruit in the first photo you will have to specify Jamaican ackee .right or wrong is relative to your nationalit

TanyaJul 07, 2016

We call the green ones limoncillos. I have not seen a key here and am not sure that is eaten.

AlistairAug 01, 2016

The picture shown above is a readily available fruit relating to the 'Soapberry family' which is used to bulk out scant and meagre food rations in impoverished nations in the western Caribbean, therefore not common to the remaining thirty-five remaining nations of the Caribbean. The fruit itself has been long associated with pure ignorance and verbal diarrhea, hence purged from Barbados in 1731.

JessicaAug 27, 2016

ackee and saltfish is my favorite dish

ashantiSep 21, 2016

mmmmmmmmmmm

Rabbon-IOct 16, 2016

We murder guinep in Guyana. Nuff variety of fruit trees grow here.

CristiOct 21, 2016

what do u call ackee in the usa

kamenaOct 31, 2016

in Guyana we called it guinep

JamiNov 02, 2016

I ate Ackee! It didn't taste very good:(. (America)

DeeNov 05, 2016

I'm from the USA. I have never seen the fruit at the top before. However, if I came across it I would most likely use the word that someone told me. Most of the time if we don't know the word for something we adopt the word used by the original language we learned it from but if it's origin is known we would use the word of origin. The fruit on the bottom I have seen and we call it Lychee.